John Ricos 55 Chevy 150

Sure, 10s are elusivebut not that elusive. How do we know? Check out John Ricos 55 Chevy 150. He bought it back in 1980 for $850 to serve as his first car and painted it quite a few years ago. Its a nice but average street caruntil you take a gander at the 10.92/123 timeslip. Thats quick for a small-blockpowered, 3,450-pound brick with no nitrous. Not only that, but theres no four-link, no fiberglass, no tubsand just a single four-barrel. So really, its a simple-to-build car.

The secrets in the engine, assembled by Johns brother, Russell Kelly, who has a 9-second Chevy II we showed you last month. But even the mill isnt overboard or even extra trickjust the right combination of parts to make 620 hp at 8,500 rpm and 500 lb-ft at 5,800. A bit wild for the street, but not too nasty for the occasional cruise with the Burbank (California) Road Peasants. In fact, John has driven the yellow brick road as far as 150 miles at a whack.